Aftermath
by Dharma.Karma
Summary: What's going to happen next season? Here are my ideas. I suck at summaries. Please read and respond. Rating for possible future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own IPS. I wish I did, but I alas…**_

_AN: This is my first real fanfic. I did the IPod challenge, but I don't know that it should count. Anyway, be kind and Read and Review! (And don't be too harsh – I'm new at this)_

**Chapter 1**

The minutes stretched into hours as they sat waiting. An odd collection of people brought together by one woman. Mary. She had been in surgery for over five hours and the stress was getting to everyone. Jinx and Brandi were sleeping in each other's arms, exhausted from the tears they had shed. Raph was sleeping in a chair. Marshall was trying desperately to keep it together while thinking about what he was going to do to the guy to shot his partner. Jinx, Brandi and Marshall all jumped when the waiting room door opened and the surgeon walked in looking tired and concerned. Marshall looked at Raphael, who was still sleeping, and wondered how he could be sleeping while his fiancé was in surgery fighting for her life.

"Ms. Shannon," he said to Jinx "Your daughter is out of surgery. There was more damage than we first thought. The bullet perforated her small intestines and grazed her spine."

"She's going to be ok though, right?" Brandi said, stifling a sob.

"It's really too early to tell. It's going to be a long road. If we can keep any infections under control she'll survive. "

Raph woke up and shot out of his chair. "Mary? Is Mary OK?" He shouted.

"It really is too early to tell what the long term effects will be." The doctor responded.

"Can we see her?" Jinx said, her voice filled with emotion.

"Yes, one at a time." The doctor replied.

Jinx was the first one to the door. Marshall stood, waiting, wanting nothing more than to push his way through the door to get to her. He knew that he had to let Jinx, Brandi and Raphael see her first. What would they think if he didn't? Raphael already despised him. He decided to use this time to call Stan and give him the update. Marshall pulled out his phone and dialed Stan's number.

"Stan. She's out of surgery. Jinx is with her now. What do you know?"

"We got him Marshall, we got him. I'm on my way over right now."

"What do you mean you got him? Is he in custody?" Marshall asked, praying that the answer was no. He wanted the bastard that did this to his Mary to pay. Custody wasn't good enough. He wanted him to suffer the way he was suffering, the way he had made Mary suffer.

"Yes. Marshall, I know what you're thinking, but let the law work. I'm on my way."

An eternity seemed to pass while Marshall stood waiting for his chance to see her. Jinx, then Brandi, then Raph all got their chance while Marshall waited, trying not to let the whole world see how anxious he was to see her, to comfort her. Raphael finally walked into the waiting room. There were tears filling his eyes, and exhaustion written all over his face. "Maybe he really does love her." Marshall thought as he headed for the door. The hallway seemed to go on forever. He fought the urge to run to her. As he reached for the door, he tried to brace his soul for what he was about to see. There she was hooked up to tubes and machines that were keeping her alive. His breathe caught in his throat and a small sob escaped his lips. He walked towards her trying to regain control of his emotions.

"Mare. I'm here." He whispered as he reached for her hand with one hand and smoothed her hair with the other one. "Mary, you have to wake up. I need you. I can't live without you Mary." His voice cracked as the tears flowed down his cheeks. He could contain it no longer. The emotions that he had been hiding for the last twelve hours erupted in ghastly sobs. "Mary, please…" He begged his body racked with grief. Trying to regain composure, he took a deep breath and put his head down. She was so still, so quiet, so fragile, so vulnerable. Vulnerable? Fragile? Those weren't words he thought he could ever use to describe Mary. He wanted to stay here until she woke up. He hadn't been there when she needed him most and she might not ever forgive him, but he had to be here now.

"Mr. Mann?" a voice at the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yes."

"Mr. Mann, I'm sorry, she needs her rest." The doctor said. Marshall, having already decided there was no way he was leaving her side, pulled out his badge.

"I'm sorry doctor. I'm a US Marshal and this is my partner. The man who did this is still out there," He lied. "She needs to remain under 24 hour guard until the suspect is apprehended."

"Oh, OK. Try to let her rest." The doctor said as he walked nonchalantly out of the room.

Marshall gave her hand one more squeeze before he walked out the door and stood "guard." Stan would be there any minute and he needed to have an explanation for why he had lied to the doctor. What could he tell Stan? _Sorry I lied to the doctor Stan, I'm in love with Mary and I'm not going to leave her side until I know she's ok. _No, that wouldn't work. _Sorry I lied to the doctor, she's my partner and I'm not leaving her until she's healthy?_ That might work, but would Stan see through it?

"Marshall. How is she?" Stan said as he hurried down the hallway towards him.

"She's…she's…" Marshall stopped, tears once again welling up in his eyes, unable to continue.

"What'd the doctor say? Marshall?"

"It's too early to tell. If she survives…" He stopped, trying to compose himself, "They don't know yet Stan. It's too early to tell." He said, while taking a deep breath and regaining control.

"Where's her family? Have they seen her?" Stan quizzed, trying to contain his own emotions and wondering if Marshall was going to make it through this.

"They've seen her. They're in the waiting room. I just…I can't. I…" he stuttered, unsure of how to finish the sentence so that Stan would understand.

"I know Marshall, it's okay. She's going to be alright. She's a fighter. You know that. Stay with her, I'm going to go check on the family."

Marshall was once again left alone with his thoughts. Staring at the lifeless form that was his partner, watching her chest rise and fall to the sound of the ventilator, praying that she would wake up. It seemed like hours past before he gathered the courage to walk back in the room.

"Hey Mare, I'm here." He said his voice barley a whisper. He smoothed her hair, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. As he held her hand, he put his chin to his chest and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Hey Doofus, did you kiss me?" Mary's voice startled Marshall awake.

"What? When? What?" Marshall asked, shocked that his Mary was ok.

"You forgot who, where and why." She replied coyly "And, you forgot to answer my question. Did you kiss me?"

"I, um, I…" Marshall's voice trailed off, knowing that there was no way around this. If she really knew he'd kissed her she'd beat him senseless.

"What? Marshall Mann's at a loss for words? Why, I didn't think that was possible." She said, giving him a smile like he hadn't seen in months.

"Mary, I um, I'm glad you're ok. You scared the shit out of me. You're not allowed to do that."

"I'm not allowed to do what Marshall? Get shot? I'm sorry; I wouldn't have except my partner left me alone in a dangerous situation so that he could go on a date." She snarked at him.

Marshall stared in utter disbelief. Not only was she awake, she was mad. Could she not see how much he cared? Did she not know how worried he was? But she was right. She wouldn't have gotten shot if he'd been there. He left her in that situation, knowing it was dangerous. It was his fault. His eyes brimmed with tears; he turned his head so that she wouldn't see him break down. She couldn't know where he had been. He had to keep it a secret until he knew for sure she was fully recovered.

"Marshall? Are you going to kiss me again?" Mary said, with a glint in her eye that he'd only seen when she was using force to subdue an uncooperative suspect.

"What?" he muttered under his breath, trying desperately to understand this situation, to understand her.

"Are. You. Going. To. Kiss. Me?"

"Do you want me to kiss you?" he asked with hesitation, positive he was going to walk into one of her traps.

"Yes. I do Marshall. I want you to kiss me. What the hell's wrong with you? Do you not know that I love you? Can you not see that I want you? Are you blind Marshall?" she snapped at him. Her voice full or hurt and lust mingled together to make something completely Mary.

He leaned in to give her a kiss, rejoicing that the day had finally come. The day he could love her, the way he'd always wanted to.

_AN: So what do you think? Do you like it? Hate it? Where do you think I'm going? I actually have Chapter 2 started, but it needs some work so it might be a few days before I get it up. Please read and respond! I'll try to post chapters in a timely manner. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**_

_AN: Thanks for coming back for more. This chapter isn't as long as the last one. Hopefully I can keep up with this. It's Christmas which brings with it lots of craziness (and baking)! _

_I can't remember what Marshall actually drives. It's been a while since I've watched IPS, so please let me know if there are any major (or minor) mistakes. I want to make things as accurate as possible. _

**Chapter 2**

"Marshall. Marshall! Wake up." Stan shouted as he reached down and touched the marshal's shoulder, trying to wake him from whatever dream he was having.

"What? Mary? What's going on?" Marshall muttered as he slowly woke up and realized where he was, and that the conversation he'd been having was only a dream.

"Marshall, you need to go home. Take a shower, change clothes, and try to get some rest. Mary's going to need you when she wakes up."

"I'm not leaving until I know she's going to be ok.

"Marshall, you've been here for 24 hours. You need to at least get something to eat. Please, go take a shower, change your clothes, and get something to eat. I'll stay right here and call if she so much as flinches." Stan told the exhausted looking marshal.

"But Stan…"

"Go Marshall. It's an order. I'll call if anything changes. Now go."

Marshall knew it would be a losing argument and he also knew he could use a shower and a change of clothes.

"Fine Stan, I'll go, but you call me if there's ANY change. I'll be back in an hour."

"Take your time Marshall, I'll be here."

"Give me a minute alone with her Stan, and I promise I'll leave."

Stan walked out the door and watched as Marshall held Mary's hand and whispered something tenderly in her ear. It was obvious how Marshall felt about Mary, but Stan was unsure if Mary had the ability to see real love if it walked up and slapped her in the face.

Marshall walked out through the waiting room and saw that it was empty. Jinx, Brandi and Raph were gone. _I wonder where they went_ he thought to himself as he walked wearily out of the hospital and to his SUV. He drove home absentmindedly, replaying the events of the last 36 hours over in his mind; the stubborn witness, the lame excuse of having a date, leaving Mary in a dangerous situation, the doctor's face when he gave him the news, the call from Bobby D, the feelings of hopelessness that had settled over him since seeing Mary. He pulled into his drive way, ran inside, showered and changed as quickly as he could. He grabbed a bag and filled it with a change of clothes, his phone charger, toothbrush, razor and a few other essential items. As he was running back out to his phone rang. He answered the phone without looking at the caller ID.

"Stan? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Mr. Mann?" A confused woman's voice asked.

"Uh…yes…this is Marshall Mann. Who is this?"

"I'm calling from Dr. Zink's office. The test results are in. When would be a good time for you to come in to talk to the Doctor?" She asked in much too pleasant voice.

"I…I…Can we do it over the phone?" Marshall stammered, unsure he wanted to know the results of the tests and positive that he didn't want to spend any more time away from Mary than was absolutely necessary.

"I'm sorry Mr. Mann, that's not an option, HIPA laws and all that. We have two o'clock this afternoon. How does that sound?"

"I'm busy today. I'll call you when I get a chance." Marshall replied hastily and hung up on the startled young nurse.

His mind was racing as he climbed into his car and sped to the hospital. He couldn't stand to be away from Mary any longer than necessary and he was terrified of the test results. He found a spot and walked in, the worry plaguing his mind and plastered on his face. As he neared Mary's room the knot in his stomach grew tighter. As he opened the door he was startled to see Raph sitting next to her bed caressing her face tenderly and whispering in her ear.

Raph looked up and stared in disbelief at Marshall.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the emotions evident in his voice.

"I just came by to check on Mary. She's my partner. How is she? Has there been any change?"

"No, nothing yet. Do you want me to call you when she wakes up?"

"Yeah…Please do." Marshall said turning to leave.

_AN: OK, this isn't as long as the first chapter. I'm not sure how I like the end of this chapter. Marshall and Raph have a strange relationship. It's kind of hard to write. Let me know what you think. I'll try to get a chapter out every other day or so. Please be patient! _


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: I know some of you were shocked by the doctor thing in the last chapter. I mentioned in chapter one that Marshall had lied to Mary about his "date" (the one that left her alone with the witness during the last episode of the season). This is why he was lying. It'll all be explained…eventually. __ Please R&R._

**Chapter 3**

Marshall walked to the waiting room and sat down heavily in a chair. _Now what? _ He thought to himself. He knew he had to give Raph room to be with Mary. He was after all her fiancé whether Marshall liked it or not. The debate raged inside of him. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, to hold her and comfort her, but that wasn't his place. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Stan's number.

"Stan" the curt voice on the other end of the line said.

"Stan, where are you? I just got to the hospital and you're not here? I thought you were going to call me."

"Sorry Marshall, something came up."

"Something more important than Mary?" Marshall asked completely stunned that Stan had left Mary without at least calling him.

"Raph was there. I told him to call me if anything happened. It has to do with the suspect."

"What happened?" He replied, sitting up straighter, hoping that it was good news and not his worst fear, come to life.

"He escaped." Stan hissed, the words dripping with anger.

"How the hell did that happen?" Marshall snapped, feeling his world unravel a little more as each minute passed.

"I don't know Marshall, but we need to find him. We need to find him before PD does."

Marshall knew immediately that he and Stan were on the same page. This bastard needed to suffer and he didn't need to be given another chance to escape police custody.

Marshall jumped up and ran to the door of the waiting room. As he pulled it open he heard a commotion down the hall. He stopped and listened for a millisecond then kept walking. He had to find the man who did this to Mary and he wasn't going to be able to do that stuck inside a hospital. As he reached the door to the parking garage the thought hit him like a ton of bricks…The commotion had been coming from the hall leading to Mary's room. _What if…_ He didn't give himself time to finish the thought. He ran as fast as he could to Mary. When he got to her hall he saw chaos. There were doctors with Mary and Raph was being looked at by someone. There was a security guard rubbing his head.

"Where'd he go?" Marshall shouted as he ran up to the security guard, pulling his badge out as he neared.

"He went that way, out the Northwest door. He was limping pretty good."

Marshall took off after him. All he could think about was getting revenge for what this monster had done to his Mary.

As Marshall raced down the staircase he realized that he didn't know anything about the man who had done this. He didn't know what he looked like or his name. He was chasing a ghost. He reached into his pocket and called Stan.

"Stan, he's at the hospital." Marshall gasped, trying to catch his breath after his run down the hall and the stairs.

"What? Where are you Marshall? Is Mary ok?"

"He came to the hospital Stan. He was in her room. I heard something and I went to look. I didn't stay and chat, I decided to catch the bastard, but I don't even know what he looks like. I'm going back to Mary's room. We need to get someone there to cover her."

"I'm on my way. See you in ten minutes."

Marshall hurried up the stairs and back to Mary's room.

The hallway was empty when he got to her floor. His hand instinctively reached for his gun as he approached Mary's room. He opened the door slowly, drawing his weapon and scanning the room and the bathroom. The room was empty, except Mary who was still lying in bed hooked up to machines that were keeping her alive. Marshall breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that she was still safe. _Where the hell is everyone _he wondered as he put his gun away and walked slowly to Mary.

His breath caught in his throat and his chest tightened as he realized that he'd almost lost her again. He sat down on the chair next to her bed and brushed the hair off her face with his hand. As he sat there waiting for Stan, all he could think about was losing her. He never should have left her side. He should have stood right outside her door. There was no way he was leaving now. He had to be there for her. The guy would come back and he had to be there to stop him when he got there.

"Marshall. How's Mary? I got here as fast as I could." Stan said as he hurried to his top two inspectors.

"I can't find a doctor. I shouldn't have left her Stan. I should have been here." He said with tears in his eyes and emotion filling his voice.

"You couldn't have known. We'll catch him Marshall, and when we do, he won't get away."

"I want to stay here. I need to protect her Stan."

"OK, I'll call you when I know something. Oh, here's a picture for you." Stan said as he pulled a picture out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Marshall.

Marshall stared at the mug shot of Juan Gonzales.

"Thanks Stan. I'll call if anything changes here. Go catch this bastard."

"Will do."

Stan walked out of the room and Marshall was again left alone with Mary. The emotions of the last 36 hours flooded him. He needed Mary. She was always such a good distraction.

"Mary," he whispered softly in her ear "I need you to wake up Mary. Please." He said, almost begging his exotic animal to be ok.

As a tear slid down his cheek Raph opened the door and walked into the room.

"Raphael." Marshall said, absentmindedly wiping the tear from his eye, "Are you ok?"

"Yea, I'm fine, just a bump on the head. What happened? I thought Stan said that they caught the guy who did this. Is there more than one guy? What's going on?"

"There's just one man. He escaped from police custody this morning. I didn't know until it was too late. I'm going to be staying here until they catch him."

"OK." Raph replied with a lack of emotion that astounded Marshall.

"I'll be just outside if you need anything."

Marshall stood outside Mary's door waiting, watching the hallway for the suspect to show his face, trying desperately to stay focused on protecting Mary for the suspect and not on her and Raph's relationship.

_**Hours Later**_

Marshall sipped his millionth cup of coffee. He'd been waiting for what seemed like years and nothing much had changed. The thoughts in his head had moved from Mary and Raph to the doctor's phone call. Concern for himself mingled with worry for Mary. He knew at some point he would need to call the doctor and set up that appointment, but it would have to wait. The sound of a door closing snapped him out of his thought and back to the present. He looked up toward the noise and saw him. He was wearing a hooded sweat shirt with the hood up. Marshall's hand unconsciously went for his gun.

"Juan Gonzales."

The man at the end of the hall looked up and Marshall knew it was him. This was the man that shot Mary. The rage almost consumed the normally professional Inspector. His gun was drawn and his finger was on the trigger. Juan put his hands up and smiled.

"What are you going to do? Shoot an unarmed surrendering man in the middle of a hospital?"

"I just might. Don't tempt me." Marshall hissed. "Get on the floor, hands out in front of you."

Juan did as he was told. Marshall walked up to him, keeping his gun trained on the young man's head, pulled cuffs out of his back pocket and cuffed the man's arms behind his back. When the suspect was secured he pulled out his phone and dialed Stan's number.

"I got him Stan. I'm bringing him in."

"Take him to the police station Marshall. I'll have Bobby D. meet you there."

Marshall walked his prisoner to his car, put him in the backseat, and started driving towards the police station.

_AN: So will he make it to the police station or will he exact revenge? I know that I left the doctor thing hanging. I promise it'll come back. I didn't mean to write this chapter…my muse took over. My muse is very persuasive, so I've learned to just let her have her way. __ Please read and review! Let me know what you like/don't like. I'll try to adjust if people aren't liking something._


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up. Life's been crazy and I have too many ideas to fit into one story! Hope you enjoy._

**Chapter 4**

On the drive to the Police Station Marshall heard a noise and felt the tire on his SUV blow. He pulled over to the side of the road and called Stan.

"Stan, I have a flat, it'll take me a while to get to the station."

"Be careful Marshall. This guy's already escaped once. We wouldn't want him to get away again."

"Don't worry about that boss." Marshall said with graveness in his voice that worried the normally unflappable Stan.

Marshall locked the doors and set to work on changing the tire. When he was almost finished he looked up and saw the suspect opening the door. He had managed to get out of his cuffs and unlock the door. Marshall, who was still holding the tire iron, walked around and hit him in the knee. Juan fell to the ground and cried out holding his obviously broken knee.

"Try to get away again." Marshall hissed

"I'm not going anywhere." The suspect whimpered.

Marshall stood over him contemplating what to do when a squad car rolled up.

"Everything ok here?" The young beat cop asked.

Marshall pulled out his badge and showed the police officer, still staring at the suspect.

"I think we need an ambulance and a new set of hand cuffs." He said trying to conceal his emotions.

Marshall re-cuffed the prisoner while the young police officer called in the ambulance. As they stood waiting for the ambulance to arrive Marshall finished changing the tire and called Stan, filling him in on the details. Marshall knew what Stan was thinking as they hung up the phone. _What would I have done if Skippy here hadn't shown up_ Marshall wondered to himself. Stan and the ambulance arrived at the same time.

"Marshall, I'll take it from here. Why don't you go check on Mary?"

"Okay. Do you need to keep my car?"

"Yea, there needs to be an investigation." Shifting his focus to the young officer "Will you please give my Inspector a ride to the hospital?"

"Okay."

Marshall and the young officer rode to the hospital in total silence. Marshall's mind ran a mile a minute thinking about what he would have done if the cop hadn't shown up.

When they reached the hospital Marshall got out and thanked the officer. _Thanks for more than just the ride, _Marshall thought. He took the stairs two at a time to get to Mary's room. As he was reaching for the door it opened and he ran into Raphael.

"Sorry. Is Mary ok?" Marshall asked the worry and stress evident on his face and in his voice.

"There's no change. He didn't hurt her. You came just in time to save her, like always." Raph hissed, unable to hide the hatred he felt toward Marshall.

"Good." Marshall said and pushed past Raph to get into Mary's room, ignoring the disdain he heard in Raph's voice. Raphael closed the door behind him and walked away. Marshall walked towards his partner and sat down in the chair next to her bed. He reached for her hand and held it tenderly in his own. He allowed his emotions to overtake him. He cried quietly for fifteen or twenty minutes before he finally spoke, "Mary I got the guy who did this to you. I…" he stopped, trying desperately to regain control of his emotions. "I…I got a flat tire and then he tried to escape. I busted him up pretty good with a tire iron, and then an AQPD cop pulled up. Mary, I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't shown up…" he let the words hang in the air. They sat in silence for almost an hour, Marshall lost in thought about what might have happened. His phone jolted him back to reality.

"Mann"

"Marshall, it's Stan we need your statement."

"Yea, sure Stan I'm on my way."

Marshall laid Mary's hand back on the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead as he left.

_AN: Please R&R. I know it's short, but I'm kind of stuff on where to go next. I have a few too many ideas! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Another short chapter, sorry. Please read and review!_

**Chapter 5**

It dawned on Marshall as he walked to the parking garage that he didn't have a vehicle. He pulled out his cell and started to call Stan, but before he could it rang.

"Mann."

"Mr. Mann this is Debbie from Dr. Zink's office. I was wondering when you could come in to get your test results."

"Um, right now isn't a good time. Please, can I just get them over the phone?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Mann, we're not able to do that. We could set something up for tomorrow afternoon. How does one o'clock sound?"

"Fine." He as he hung up the phone.

Again, before he could dial Stan his phone rang.

"Mann." He spat to the person on the other end of the line.

"It's Stan. I'm in the garage; I realized you didn't have a car. Where are you?"

"I'm right here." He said as he walked up to Stan's car and knocked on the window.

Stan took Marshall to AQPD where Marshall gave his statement and got his SUV back. It was his word against Juan's and everyone believed the experienced and professional Marshal.

Marshall and Stan went back to the Sunshine Building and Marshall tried to concentrate on all the paper work that needed to be finished. He also made some calls to witnesses. It was after nine when he finally left the Witsec office and made his way back to the hospital.

He walked into Mary's room and looked around. The ventilator was still breathing for her and she had multiple IVs. He sat down and stared at her, not sure what to say. He finally decided to fill her in on his day. He talked for hours in a way that only Marshall Mann can.

"Mr. Mann?" a gentle voice spoke to him. He opened his eyes and realized that he'd been sleeping.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily.

"It's just after six A.M." The nurse responded gently. She was just finishing her shift and had watched him spend the night by her patient's side. She knew his name from the chart and the description the of Mary's partner from the nurse who was there when she arrived.

"An aide will be in a few minutes to give her a sponge bath and we don't allow visitors during that time."

"I understand. I need to get changed and get to work anyway. I'll be back tonight. Will someone call me if there's a change?"

"Sure. Your number's in her file and there's a not to call if anything changes."

"Thank you." He said to the nurse, then turned to Mary and leaned in close. "Mare, I've got to go. I'll be back tonight. I need you to fight Mary. I need you to wake up."

He held in a tear as he walked out of her room.

_AN: I'm afraid I'm going to get boring. Let me know if you think it's too slow or boring and I'll work on making it more exciting. Reviews keep me writing, so please let me know what you think!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Marshall pulled up to the Sunshine Building at 7:30 a.m. He hadn't finished his paperwork from the day before and he needed to check on a few of Mary's witnesses. He sat down at his desk and started working on the never ending pile of paperwork. He often was the first one in so the silence that hung in the air was normal, but it felt wrong. Marshall tried to focus on the task in front of him, but he just couldn't force himself to care about what he was doing. All he could think about was Mary. He decided a cup of coffee would help. He went and made coffee and sat back down at his desk, determined to finish filling out the form he was working on. As he was finishing the door opened and Stan walked in, followed by Eleanor. Marshall looked up and smiled sadly as the two walked by his desk. Stan and Eleanor exchanged a glance.

"Did you spend the night at the hospital?" Eleanor asked with concern in her voice.

"Yea, there's no change."

"You need to make sure you sleep sometime Marshall. I know you want to be there for her, but you won't be able to do that if you wear yourself out."

"Thanks Eleanor. I got some sleep while I was there. I'll be ok."

"OK. Let me know if you need anything."

"I need Mary to wake up." Marshall mumbled under his breath.

Marshall spent the morning trying to concentrate and Stan and Eleanor spent the morning worried about Marshall and Mary. At noon Marshall walked into Stan's office.

"Hey Stan, I need to take a few hours for lunch. I'll be back."

"OK, take all the time you need. And Marshall…"

"Yea, Stan?"

"Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do."

Marshall arrived at Dr. Zink's office with five minutes to spare. He was terrified of what the test results were and why they wouldn't just give them to him over the phone. He'd been having his physicals done by Dr. Zink since he'd moved to Albuquerque and he'd never called him into the office for test results.

"Marshall Mann?" the nurse stood at the door and called.

Marshall stood up and followed her into an exam room in silence.

"The doctor will be with you shortly." She said as she turned and walked out of the tiny room.

Marshall sat down on the exam table and tried to calm his mind. Two minutes later he was up pacing around the room. He wasn't good at waiting and it seemed as if that was the new theme in his life. He paced around the tiny room for another forty minutes before the door opened and Dr. Zink walked in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, it's been a busy day." The doctor said.

"No problem." Marshall lied. He sat down on the exam table and the doctor sat in the only chair in the room. Marshall could feel his heart rate climbing as he stared at the doctor waiting for him to tell him what was going on.

"Marshall there was an abnormality with your blood work. It's nothing serious; I just wanted to have you come in so we could discuss it."

"What kind of abnormality?" Marshall asked, slightly relieved by the doctor's word, but still anxious.

"Your red blood cell count was low. This means you have anemia, which is typically indicative of a more serious condition. Have you been having any health problems that we didn't discuss when you were here?"

"Not really. I've had more heartburn than I used to, but it doesn't bother me too much."

"Noticed any blood in your stool, difficulty swallowing, or weight loss?"

"I've lost a few pounds." Marshall replied becoming more and more uneasy as the conversation progressed.

"It sounds like a peptic ulcer. I would like to schedule you to have an endoscopy and we'll get a biopsy of your stomach to make sure that it is only an ulcer."

"What else could it be Dr. Zink?" Marshall asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice.

"There's a small chance that it could be cancer, but I highly doubt it. Is there a history of ulcers in your family Marshall?"

"No. Not of ulcers, but…" his voice caught. He took a deep breath and pursed his lips together trying to maintain his composure and gather the courage to tell his doctor about his sister.

"Are you alright Marshall?" The doctor asked, concern written on his face.

"Yes. No. I…My sister died of stomach cancer when she was 24." He stuttered and then regained, his normal blank look.

"I'm sure it's just an ulcer Marshall. Let's get the endoscopy done before you worry."

"Yea, ok. I can do that." Marshall said, knowing the doctor was oblivious to all the things in his life and his past that were causing him to worry.

"Here, take this and give it to the front desk and they'll get you scheduled for that endoscopy. Do you have any questions before I go?"

"No."

"OK, I'll see you soon and try not to worry."

_A/N: Oh my goodness. What have I done to poor Marshall? My muse completely took over. I'll try to control her tomorrow, but sometimes she's persuasive. Please Review! _


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